From eyeballs to AI: rethinking the systems behind modern business

Technology is often framed as a solution to society’s biggest challenges, but in reality, it is neutral. More often than not, it acts as an amplifier – scaling the systems, incentives, and assumptions already in place.

In this talk, Sebastian Shariati, Founder and CEO of Wecobi, explores how historical business models – from the emergence of attention as a KPI in Vaudeville to modern retail’s reliance on overproduction, marketing dependency, and globalized supply chains – have shaped many of today’s environmental and societal challenges.

By tracing a set of key structural decisions that led us here – many of which Wecobi was built to challenge – he highlights how deeply embedded assumptions continue to influence how businesses operate today.

A central theme of the talk is that the greatest opportunity presented by AI is not just greater efficiency, but the ability to rethink the systems beneath it. Drawing on examples from commerce, media, and technology, Sebastian explores what becomes possible when these underlying assumptions are questioned – and how technology can enable new ways of creating both business value and positive impact.

Participants will leave with a clearer perspective on innovation and impact, and a better understanding of how to identify and challenge the hidden structures that shape the systems they interact with every day.